By James Langton

(April 9 – 13:25 ET) – Ontario’s Minister of Finance has approved a rule making membership in the Mutual Fund Dealers Association mandatory for fund dealers.

This long-awaited move finally gives dealers a deadline for the implementation of the new group. Rebecca Cowdery, manager, investment funds, at the Ontario Securities Commission, confirms that the rule making MFDA membership mandatory has been approved, and that the OSC will publish a notice in the OSC Bulletin later this week.

The rule comes into effect April 23, which means that dealers have until May 23 to apply for. The MFDA will begin processing applications right away, with the final deadline for joining the MFDA set at July 2, 2002.

Late last year, the then-finance minister Ernie Eves, sent a similar rule back to the OSC for further consideration. Since then the MFDA has been approved as a self-regulatory organization in several provinces, including Ontario. The MFDA’s proposed rules governing the fund dealers have been public for some time, although the exact look of the MFDA Investor Protection Plan has yet to be finalized.

Also, the Federation of Independent Mutual Fund Dealers continues to entreat the provincial finance ministers to swallow the $12 million startup funding provided to the MFDA by the securities commissions of Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Ontario, which is on the hook for the largest share, has so far rejected its pleas.